Automatically-operated station indicator



June 10 1924. 1,497,551

" D. DAVIDSON I AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED STATION INDICATOR Filed March 30, 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Q 4 I fi flay/ba o/z mv woR ya I warm-55;

June 10, 1924.

D. DAVIDSON AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED STATION INDICATOR Filed March 30, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

INVENTOR D. flay/0530 ATTORN EY WITNESS:

D. DAVIDSON AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED STATION INDICATOR June 10 Filed March so, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet '5 INVENTOR WM} dun m1 ATTORNEY WITNESS:

Junk: 10 1924.

D. DAVIDSON AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED STATION INDICATOR Filed March 50, 1922 4 Sheets$heet 4 INVENTQR j 551mm ATTORN EY Patented June 10, 1924.

PPITlilllTv DAVID DAVIDSON, Q1? EDINBURG, DAKOTA.

; AUTOMATICALLY -OIERATED STATION INZDEUCATOR. T

Application filedv March: 30, 1922. Serial Nb. 548,025.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID DAvmsoN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Edinburg, in the county of Cavalier and State of North Dakota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatically-Operated Station Indicators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signal devices, particularly to station indicators, and has for its object the provision of a device of this character which is automatically oper ated upon the approach of a car toward av station or street whereby to display to the occupants of acar the name of. the next street or station so thatthe passengers will not have to depend upon the usual calling out by theconductor, it being well known that the conductor frequently fails to call the station or street and if he does call them does so so unintelligibly that his words are not understood.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character which is electrically operated, the mechanism being set in operation by the engagement of a movable element carried by the trolley pole with a trip carried by thetrolley wire.

Still another object is the provision of a device of this character in which the legend bearing element, that is the movable apron or belt which carries the names of'the streets or stations is moved step by step by an electric motor which is energized by the switch device associated with the trolley pole and operated by the trip.

A further object is the provision of a device of this character in" which the power roll of the legend carrying apron-or belt driven by the motor carries a distributor which is in the electric circuit and which is so constructed and arranged and associated with a magnetic cutout, that when the trip operates the movable element of the switch device the circuit will be closed and will remain so for an appreciable length of gated sheet or strip having its ends wound upon spring rollers and having its interme- With the above and other objects and advantages in view the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion ofthe trolley pole and trolley and showing the trip and switch mechanism mounted. thereon.

Figure 2 is a detail view of the circuit closer.

Figurev 3 is a cross sectional view therethrough showing it mounted upon the trolley pole and showing the internal construction.

Figures 4a and 5 trip bracket.

Figure 6 is an elevation of the mechanism, mounted within the end of a car.

Figure 7 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view show.- ing the construction of the switch.

Figure 9 is a diagram of the t-ilectric circuit.

Figures 10 and 11 are detail views of a modified form of the name carrying sheet or strip.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates the portion of the trolley pole of a car, this trolley pole carrying the usual grooved wheel B which engages the trolley wire C. In carrying out are detail views of the my invention I provide a bracket 15 which.

is suitably secured upon the trolley wire or upon some cross wire which supports the trolley wire and which is provided with a depending trip 16 designed to be. engaged. by a lever 17 which is mounted upon the outside of a casing 18 suitably secured upon the trolley pole as shown. at 19 This casing. is provided interiorly with a recess 20 within theperiphery of which are embedded pairs of contacts 21. and 22 which are adapt ed to be engaged by contacts 23 and Qt respectively which form an element secured upon. a shaft 25 which. projects through the side of the casing and upon which the lever 17 is Secured. Extending from opposite sides of this lever are arms 26 with which are connected the ends of coil springs 27 which have their other ends suitably secured as indicated at 28. The purpose of these springs is to hold the lever 17 in normal or neutral position, that is with all of the contacts 23 and 24 out of engagement with the contacts 21 and 22.

Mounted within the end portion D of the car is an upright casing 29 which is pro vided with a sight opening 30. Journaled transversely of the upper portion of this casing is a roller 31 carried by'a shaft 31" and journaled transversely of the lower portion is a roller 32, suitable bearings being of course provided. Trained about these rollers 31 and 32 is an endless belt or apron 33 upon which are'printed, painted or otherwise inscribed the names of the stations or streets and preferably also the highest munbers of the houses on the blocks between successive streets. It is also preferable that the casing 29 be provided adjacent the sight open-ing 30 with the legend lVe are approaching and also the legend House number in order that passengers riding upon the car will know exactly where they are so that there will be no confusion as to where they should alight from the car.

Instead of the strip or belt or apron, as it may be called, being endless it may be formed as a long sheet or strip 33 having its ends wound upon spring rollers 34 and 35 as indicated in Figures 10 and 11, either or both of these rollers being furthermore capable of being driven from the roller 31 as for instance by means of flexible belts 36 trainedover grooved pulleys 37 on the shaft of the, motor 42 and also trained about grooved pulleys 38 and 39 mounted upon the shafts of the rollers 34 and 35 respectively. In case this form is used it is apparent that some means must be provided for permitting slippage of one of the rollers during the drive thereof owing to the fact that the diameter of the roller varies according to the number of convolutions of the flexible strip or apron wound thereonto. Regardless of the specific construction of this endless belt or apron and in mounting, that is regardless of whether it is a continuous strip or a single elongated strip wrapped about the rollers as shown in Fig ures 10 and 11, the construction and operation of all the other portions of the mechanism are identically the same.

Trained about the pulley 37 on the shaft 31 is a belt 40 which is in turn trained about a pulley 41 mounted upon the shaft of a suitable electric motor 42. I also prefer to employ a presser roller 43 which is suitably mounted and which bears against the endless belt or apron, this roller 43 cooperating with the roller 31 for preventing any slipping of the belt or apron during the opera- .tion of the device. lVheu the term slipping is used in this particular instance, it means to prevent any loosencss of the belt or apron. with respect to the roller 31 as will be readily apparent.

Carried by the shaft of the roller 31 at the end thereof opposite that provided with the grooved pulley 39, I provide a friction clutch element 31 pressed by a spring 31 into engagement with a mating clutch element 31 on the shaft 31 of a switch structure which includes a disk 44 within. the periphery of which is recessed a SOIHl-ClF cular contact 45, it being understood that the disk 44 itself is of insulated material such as fiber, hard rubber or the like. Connected withthe shaft 31 of the switch is a contact member 46 which is connected within the disk with the contact 45. Engaging the periphery of this distributor disk are contacts 47 and 48 which are for a pm pose to be hereinafter described.

Mounted at some suitable location within the car, or at any other desired point is a magnetic cutout indicated broadly by the numeral 48 and including a pair of electromagnets 49 and 50 with which are associated armatures 51 carried by pivoted contacts 52 and 53 which have their movement opposed by coil springs 54 as shown. the path of movement of these contacts 52 and 53 are stationary contacts 55 and 56. Ordinarily the springs 54 operate to hold the contacts 52 and 53 out of engagement with the contacts 55 and 56 respectively as shown in the drawings.

A suitable source of current 57 has one terminal connected with one binding post of the motor 42 and has its other terminal connected with one end of the windings of the electromagncts 49 and 50. The other end of the winding of the magnet 4-9 is connected with the contact 55, this contact being also connected with one of the contacts 21 of the circuit closer. Connected with the other contact 21 of the circuit closer is awire 57 which is connected with the movable contact 52 and which is also connected by a branch wire 53 with the contact 47 of the switch. The other terminal of the winding of the electromagnet 50 is connected with the contact 56 which is in turn connected by a wire 59 with one of the contacts 22. The other contact 22 is connected by a wire 60 with the movable contact and is also connected. by a branch wire 61 with the contact 4-3 of the switch.

Assuming that the device has been constructed and assembled as above described, the operation is as follows:

Initially, the lever 17 is held in such position by the spring 27 that the contacts 23 and 24 of the circuit closer are out. of engagement with the contacts 21 and 22, the contacts 52 and 53 are out of engagement.

Disposed in with the contacts 55 and 56 respectively and the contact 47 engages the metallic contact while the contact 48 engages against the periphery of the disk 44 of insulating material. It is of course apparent that when the car starts at the beginning of the line the sheet or apron 33 bearing the names of the streets or stations must be moved to such a position that the. first street name or station will appear through the sight opening 30. Some means may be provided for rotating the roller 31 by hand for placing this strip or apron in the proper posi= tion and in order toprovide for movement of the roller 31 independently of the switch structure it is preferable to provide the fric tion clutch comprised by the parts 31", 31 and 31, between the shaft of the roller 31 and the shaft 31 which carries the distributor disk 44. As the car travels along, the arm of lever 17 carried by the trolley pole will strike-against the successive trip brackets 16 mounted upon the trolley wire. Whenever the lever 17 engages a trip 16, it is apparent that the shaft 25 will be rocked and this will move the contacts 23 and 24 into engagement with the contacts 21 and 22 respectively. When this occurs the current will flow from its source to the positive connection, that is its connection with a motor 42, through the wire 63 which leads from the motor to the member 46 and thence through the metallic member 45. Assuming that the upper brush 47 is on the conductor member 45, the current will flow from the member 46 and contact 45 through the wire 58 and wire 57 to one contact 21, through both of the contacts 23, then to the other contact 21 and wire 64 which connects this Contact with the contact and then through the coil of the elec tromagnet 49 and back out to the battery. When this circuit takes places it is of course apparent that the motor 42 will be set in operation and this will result in rotating the roller 31 and consequently moving the endless belt or apron 33. At the same time the core of the electromagnet 49 will be energized and the armature 51 associated with the movable contact 52 will be attracted and this will result in engagement of the contact 52 with the stationary contact 55. As the street car moves on, the arm or lever 17 passes by the trip 16 and the springs 27 will operate to return the lever arm 17 to its initial or upright position, thus moving the contacts 23 and 24 out of engagement with the contacts 21 and 22 respectively and breaking the circuit through the motor. The current traveling through the wire 58 as above described then follows the path of least resistance and passes through the movable contact 52 and stationary contact 55 back to the battery. When the roller 31 is rotated by the motor a sufficient extent that the contact 45 on the switch is moved out of engagement with the brush 47 it is apparent that the motor circuit will be broken so that the motor will cease to operate and the movement of the belt or apron 33 will cease. The parts are so arranged and related that at each trip of the lever arm 17 the motor will be operated a sufficient time to move the strip or apron 33 one step so that the next station or street name will be exposed through the sight opening 30. When this action occurs, the contact 45 on the switch will be in engagement of the brush 48 while the brush 47 will engage the insulating disk 44. This entire action occurs of course while the car is moving only a few: feet. Upon reaching the next trip member 16 along the line the lever arm 17 is again operated and substantially the same action occurs except that in this instance the current passes through the brush 48 instead of the brush 47 and through the wire 61 and wire to the contact 22 thence through both of the contacts 24 and other contact 22 and back through the wire 59 to the stationary contact 56 and then through the winding of the electromagnet 50 and back to the battery. The energization of the m0 tor occurs as in the first described instance and the armature 51 associated with the contact 53 is attracted to the core of the electromagnet 50 which results in closing of the switch defined by the contact 56 and the contact 53. The operation of the motor continues in this instance until the distributor disk 44 has made a half turn whereupon the circuit is broken owing to the fact that the contact 45 is then again in engagement with the brush 47. This operation continues every time the lever arm 17 strikes against one of the trips 16 and it will be seen that the device therefore operates automatically to move the display belt or apron one step as each strip is passed so that the names of the stations or streets together with the highest number of the houses on the block will be displayed to the occupants of the car so that they will know just exactly where they are and will 11 not have to rely upon looking out of the window to locate themselves or to rely up on the calling out of the conductor.

From the forgoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent fusion and annoyance owing to people passing their destinations inadvertently.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is: I

A station indicator of the character described comprising in combination, a movable apron carrying the names of stations or streets, a roller for driving said apron, an electric motor operatively connected with the roller whereby to rotate the same, a switch carried by the roller and including a disk of insulating material having a semicircular metallic contact upon its periphery. a pair of brushes diametrically arranged and engaging said disk and said metallic contact respectively, a pair of electromagnets and a cutout, a circuit closer including, a plurality of stationary contacts and a series of movable contacts engageable therewith, an arm pivotally mounted upon the trolley pole for moving said movable contacts of the circuit closer, and trips located along the line in position to be engaged by said lever arm, said motor, said brushes, said metallic contact, and said electromag netic cutout being connected in circuit with a source of current and the stationary contacts of the circuit closer being included in said circuit.

In testimony whereof I afiixnly signature.

DAVID DAVIDSON. 

